Srinagar, July 6: The Amarnath Yatra was temporarily halted on both routes to the cave shrine on Saturday due to heavy rainfall, officials reported.
Intermittent heavy rains persisted along the Baltal and Pahalgam paths since last night, prompting authorities to suspend the pilgrimage as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.
Over 150,000 devotees have already visited the cave shrine, situated at an altitude of 3,800 meters, to witness the naturally formed ice lingam. The yatra commenced on June 29 via two routes: the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the shorter 14-km, yet steeper, Baltal route in Ganderbal. It is scheduled to conclude on August 19.
This year's pilgrimage saw a fresh batch of more than 5,800 pilgrims departing from Jammu on July 6 to join the yatra in Kashmir. Despite adverse weather conditions, the ninth batch, which included 1,118 women and 18 children among 5,876 pilgrims, departed from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in separate convoys of 245 vehicles between 2:50 am and 3:50 am. Of these, 3,759 pilgrims headed towards Pahalgam in 134 vehicles, while another group of 2,117 devotees in 111 vehicles made their way to Baltal.
